What USAID funding freeze means for Vermont

The Trump administration’s decision to freeze nearly all U.S. Agency for International Development programs could threaten Vermont nonprofits and businesses.

The decision halts funding for global development efforts, affecting organizations that provide health care, disaster relief and economic support in more than 130 countries. 

Congress provided $66.1 billion in foreign assistance appropriations in fiscal year 2023.

“The USAID provides lifesaving assistance, healthcare, disaster relief and prevents them from coming into conflict. It’s both moral but it also serves our national security,” said Victoria Holt,, director of Dartmouth College’s John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding. 

Former Burlington Mayor Peter Clavelle previously worked for Tetra Tech/ARD, a consulting and engineering firm focused on water, environmental sustainability, infrastructure, renewable energy and international development. The company, which has offices in Winooski and Montpelier, has a long history of working with USAID funding, most recently securing a $5 billion award in October. 

Tetra Tech did not respond to multiple requests for comment. 

Clavelle said the decision to freeze USAID funding will have “a significant impact on Vermonters and the Vermont economy,” and that its effects will be felt far beyond the state.

“The number of lives that will be affected, jobs that will be eliminated, careers that will be destroyed, is far, far greater than the number of USAID employees in Tetra Tech/ARD,” Clavelle said.

“I’m sure that there are ways, there are reforms that could make it more efficient and more effective, but that’s true of any governmental agency,” Clavelle said, adding that the agency “has done excellent work, has saved probably millions of lives and addressed famine in countries across the world.”

U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., took to the Senate floor Tuesday to condemn the freeze, warning that it imperils Vermont-based organizations that implement USAID programs. 

Welch said it is disrupting nonprofit organizations, contractors and institutions of higher education in the state — organizations with “a long history of implementing USAID humanitarian and development programs.” He pointed to TetraTech/ARD; World Learning, a nonprofit that provides global education and exchange programs; and the Vermont Afghan Alliance, an organization that assists Afghans resettling in the state as examples of affected organizations.

“Suddenly, out of the blue, without even an hour’s notice, these organizations and others were forced to shut down programs and lay off staff, with no idea of what comes next,” Welch said. “Many of their employees are working overseas where they are stranded without even the ability to have funds to pay for flights home.”

Welch criticized President Donald Trump and Elon Musk for their role in dismantling the agency, saying the move is illegal, unconstitutional and devastating to institutions with a long history of global aid work.

“It has a relatively small budget — less than 1% of the total federal budget — and it has a large responsibility to support humanitarian, economic development and governance programs in more than 100 countries,” Welch said. He also criticized Musk’s lack of government experience and his characterization of USAID as a “criminal organization.”

When asked about potential legal action, Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark wrote in a statement, “We’re reviewing every Executive Order and potential illegal act, and this is near the top of the list. However, I cannot comment further at this time.”

Read the story on VTDigger here: What USAID funding freeze means for Vermont.